Page 148
An.1684
A rich Wreck. Cat-fish.
have been lost. It is reported by the Spaniards, that there is a very rich Wreck lies on the North side of that Island, not far from it; and that some of the Plate hath been taken up by one who came from Old Spain, with a Patent from the King to fish in those Seas for Wrecks; but he dying, the Project ceas'd, and the Wreck still remains as he left it; on- ly the Indians by stealth do sometimes take up some of it: and they might have taken up much more, if it were not for the Catfish which swarm hereabouts.
The Catfish is much like a Whiting, but the Head is flatter and bigger. It hath a great wide Mouth, and certain small Strings pointing out from each side of it, like Cats Whiskers: and for that reason it is called a Catfish. It hath three Fins; one growing on the top of his back, and one on either side. Each of these Fins hath a stiff sharp bone, which is very ve- nemous if it strikes into a mans flesh: therefore it is dangerous diving where many of these Fish are. The Indians that adventured to search this wreck, have to their sorrow experienc'd it; some having loft their lives, others the use of their limbs by it: this we were informed by an Indian, who himself had been fishing on it by stealth. I my self have known some white men that have loft the use of their hands, only by a small prick with the fin of these Fish: therefore when we catch them with a Hook, we tread on them to take the Hook out of their mouths, for otherwise, in flurting about (as all Fish will when first taken) they might acciden- tally strike their sharp Fins into the hands of those that caught them. Some of these Fish are 7 or 8 pound weight; some again, in some particular places, are none of them bigger than a Man's Thumb, but their Fins are all alike venemous. They use to be at the mouths of Rivers, or where there is much Mud and Oaze, and they are found all over the American Coast, both in the North and South Seas, at least